Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left

438 Pages·2011·5.678 MB·English

by  Ian Bullock

romancing the revolution
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ian bullock
the
the myth of soviet democracy
and the British Left
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield
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Copyright © 2011 Ian Bullock
Published by AU Press, Athabasca University
1200, 10011 – 109 Street, Edmonton, Alberta t5j 3s6
isbn 978-1-926836-12-6 (print)
isbn 978-1-926836-13-3 (pdf)
isbn 978-1-926836-37-9 (epub)
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bullock, Ian, 1941–
Romancing the revolution : the myth of Soviet democracy
and the British left / Ian Bullock.
Includes index.
1. Socialist parties — Great Britain — History — 20th century.
2. Soviet Union — Foreign public opinion, British.
3. Socialism — Great Britain — History — 20th century.
4. Soviet Union — Politics and government — 1917–1936.
i. Title.
jn1129.l32b85 2011 324.241’09709041 c2011-900884-x
Cover and interior design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design.
Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis Book Printers.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through
the Canada Book Fund (cbf) for our publishing activities.
Assistance provided by the Government of Alberta, Alberta Multimedia
Development Fund.
This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons License, Attribution-
Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada: see www.creativecommons.
org. The text may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that
credit is given to the original author.
To obtain permission for uses beyond those outlined in the Creative Commons
license, please contact AU Press, Athabasca University, at [email protected].
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For Sue and Chloe,
James and Rob, Andrew and Pat
and in memory of Walter Kendall
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contents
Acknowledgements xi
List of Abbreviations xiii
Timeline: may 1916 to january 1925 xiv
Introduction 3
1 Well-Prepared Ground
The British Left on the Eve of the Russian Revolution 17
The Main Constituents of the British Left 17 • Radical Plebeian Democracy in
British Socialism 21 • Shop Stewards, Syndicalism, and Guild Socialism 29 •
De Leonism and the Socialist Labour Party 34
2 Initial Responses to the Russian Revolution
The British Left in 1917 and the Leeds “Soviet” Convention 41
The “Marvellous Revolution” 41 • The Origins of the Leeds Convention:
Anticipations and Preparations 45 • The Convention Meets 49 • The “Soviet”
Resolution 51 • Reactions to Leeds 55 • Trying to Make British Soviets Work 58
3 The Bolsheviks and the British Left
The October Revolution and the Suppression of the Constituent Assembly 67
The “Unknown” Bolsheviks Begin to Register 67 • The Bolsheviks Take Power 72 •
How the British Left Reacted to the October Revolution 73 • The Crucial Turning
Point: The Suppression of the Constituent Assembly 76 • The Suppression of
the Assembly: Immediate Reactions 80 • The Labour Party Conferences of 1918:
Litvinov Versus Kerensky 88 • Snowden’s Early Optimism 91 • “Replacing” the
Constituent Assembly: Retrospective Justifications 92
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4 The Myth Established
The Positive View of Soviet Democracy 99
“The Superiority of the Soviet” 99 • The Reality of Soviets — as Seen by Supporters
and Sympathetic Observers 107 • Labour Leader and “an Experiment Which
Mankind Truly Needs” 114 • Allowing the Bolsheviks a “Run for Their Money”:
The New Statesman, 1918–1921 116
5 Polarized Social-Democrats
Denunciation and Debate 125
The National Socialist Party, Justice, and the “Anti-Bolshevik Campaign” 125 •
Parliamentarism and Trade Unionism: The 1919 Debate in The Call 135
6 Equivocal Reformists
The Independent Labour Party, the Guild Socialists, and the
Reaction to Kautsky 147
ilp Critics: Giving the Bolsheviks Some Benefit of the Doubt 147 • Conflicts in the
National Guilds League 153 • The “Aunt Sally of the Third International” 162
7 The Dictatorship of the Proletariat 169
The Dictatorship of the Proletariat and Soviet Democracy 169 • The Temporary
Nature of the Dictatorship 177 • The Revolutionary Party and the Dictatorship
of the Proletariat 179 • Defenders of Dictatorship 183
8 The Independent Labour Party and the Third International
A Crucial Test for Belief in Soviet Democracy 189
Which International? 189 • Third International Support in the ilp in Early 1920 194 •
The 1920 ilp Conference 198 • Reports from Russia 200 • The Left Wing of
the ilp and the 1921 Conference 205
9 “An Infantile Disorder”
Communist Unity and the Brief Life of the Communist Party
(British Section of the Third International) 215
The Khaki Election of 1918 215 • Waiting for the Soviets: The “True Believers”
of the Workers’ Socialist Federation 217 • “Left” and “Right” Communists 220 •
The “Leading English Communist” 222 • “A Wrecking Policy” and the Failure of the
“Appeal to Caesar” 227 • “Left-Wing” Communism: Wary Shop Stewards Remain
Aloof 229 • Gorter Rejects Lenin’s Criticism 231 • The Short but Eventful Life
of the cp (bsti) 233
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10 British Bolsheviks?
The Socialist Labour Party 245
Some Limits of slp Sectarianism 245 • Parliament and the Labour Party 254 •
The Communist Unity Group and the “Unity Gag”: The slp Declines to Unite 256 •
The Third International and the 21 Conditions 257 • The slp and the Soviets:
A Changing Emphasis 260 • The Revival of De Leonism: The “Industrial Republic”
and the wiiu 262 • The Dictatorship of the Proletariat and “Civilised” Conflict 264 •
The Nature of the Revolution and the Role of the Revolutionary Party 271
11 Pankhurst’s Dreadnought and the (Original) Fourth International
“Left Communism” and Soviet Democracy 275
The Dreadnought Before Pankhurst’s Expulsion 275 • Pankhurst’s Expulsion,
“Freedom of Discussion,” and the Dreadnought Reprieved 279 • Perceptions
of Russian Reality: The Beginning of the Change 283 • The Original Fourth
International and the Communist Workers’ Party 284 • The Role of the Soviets
in the Coming Revolution 289 • The Nature of Soviet Democracy 294 •
The Degeneration of the Russian Revolution: “Right-Wing” Communists
Abandon Soviet Democracy 298 • The Spread of Soviets and the Dictatorship
of the Proletariat 302
12 The Early British Communist Party
Soviet Democracy Deferred and Redefined 307
The First Step to Socialism: A Labour Government 307 • Redefinition Begins:
Democracy . . . or Ergatocracy? 309 • The Role of the Soviets: Zinoviev’s
“Theses” 310 • The Dictatorship of the Proletariat: From Class to Party 312 •
“Bolshevization” and Democratic Centralism 314 • Desertions from the Left 318 •
Soviet Democracy Deferred 322 • Soviet Democracy Depoliticized 323
13 Endings and Conclusions 333
Kronstadt and the “Collapse” of Communism 333 • The Decline of Left-Wing
Alternatives in Britain 338 • The Demise of Solidarity and The Guild Socialist 340 •
The End of The Socialist and the Sinking of the Workers’ Dreadnought 342 •
Justice and the Ending of the sdf-bsp Tradition 345 • The Beginning of the End of
Labour Leader: Snowden Versus Mrs. Glasier 346 • The End of Labour Leader 350 •
Attitudes Towards Leadership and the Cult of Lenin 352 • Conclusions 359
Notes 367
Bibliography 401
Index 409
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